Philippine airlines primed to take bigger share of commercial air traffic

Aided by industry consolidation in recent years, the Philippines is set to catch up with regional peers and become the third-fastest growing market for commercial aviation in 2016, according to an aviation think tank. Capa said in a report the country already posted "high" single digit growth in terms of passenger volume in 2015. The top three growth markets were Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, each with double digit growth, it said. However, Capa noted Cambodia's tourism sector was showing a slowdown, while the Philippines was seeing an upswing in demand "boosted by a surging economy." Last year, the Philippines saw domestic passenger growth at 8.5% to 22.1m flyers, and 10.5% on the international side to 19.8m. That means total passenger growth last year was at 9.4%. <br/>